by W. John Walsh

Latter-day Saints believe in the continued identity and existence of all living things after the death of the mortal body.  Death does not signify the ending of the eternal soul, but is simply the transition from one form of existence to another. (See Death and Dying) 

 

Our souls are comprised of two elements: “the spirit and the body.”[1]  President Joseph F. Smith taught: “The body without the spirit is dead, but the spirit is an immortal and an independent principle and being.”[2]  At death, our spirit departs from our physical body and is “taken home to that God who gave it life, meaning that it returns to live in the realm of spiritual existence. (Eccles. 12:7.)”[3]  This applies to all men “whether they are good or evil…”[4]

 

In the world of departed spirits, we face the immediate certain judgment of God.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie noted:  “Death itself is an initial day of judgment for all persons, both the righteous and the wicked.”[5]  However, this initial judgment is not the final judgment, but simply “a separation, a partial judgment…”[6]  This partial judgment  “pertains to the period intervening between the death of the body and the resurrection of the body, or the separation of the spirit from the body and their uniting together again.”[7]  A spirit is “assigned to its place, either to associate with the good and the noble ones who have lived in the paradise of God, or to be confined in the ‘prison-house’ to await the resurrection of the body from the grave.”[8]

 

After an appropriate period of time as determined by God, everyone shall be physically resurrected and face their final judgment.  President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

 

“This blessing comes to all men through the atonement of Christ, irrespective of their goodness or wickedness while in mortality. Paul said there should be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust, and the Savior said that all who were in their graves should hear his voice and should come forth, ‘they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’”[9]

 

After resurrection and final judgment, every person will be saved in a kingdom of glory—except the sons of perdition, who are cast into outer darkness.[10]  President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

 

“It is the purpose of the Almighty to save all mankind, and all will enter into his kingdoms in some degree of glory, except sons of perdition who sin beyond the power of repentance and redemption, and therefore cannot receive forgiveness of sins. All the rest shall be saved, but not all with the same degree of glory or exaltation. Every man will be judged according to his works, his opportunities for receiving the truth, and the intent of his heart.”[11]